Floor Update #2: Raw Floor Boards

The floor guys have started sanding the floor boards. Here is the study ...
... the hallway ...
... the lounge room ...
... HRH's room ...
... and the kitchen ...
... and my bedroom.
I took these at night so the light wasn't the best and the colours aren't true. But a dramatic improvement over what they looked like before.

Remember that dodgy floor board in my room? All fixed and the squeaky part of the my bedroom floor isn't squeaky any more.

Bathroom Update #2: Windows out to Porch

We have a pretty small bathroom so using that space effectively is rather important. Remember those windows in the bathroom? The ones that looked out onto the old porch?

Handy Andy has moved the back boards out more there is more usable space to store things, like towels, in the bathroom. They have been sanded back, all ready for painting. Which is on the agenda for the Queen's Birthday long weekend.

We are going to fossick around junk and renovations places to see if we can find some cut glass windows to mount as doors for these new storage spaces on either side of the old mirrored door with the glass knob.

Here is what it looks like now from the study.

And these windows will be covered up by the built-in cupboards I've ordered. Which will be installed next week.

Floor Update #1: What's Under the Lino?

The first thing the floor guys did was rip up the old lino and the masonite underneath it in the kitchen and I got my first look at what the kitchen floor really looks like.
In the middle of the kitchen, someone put a couple of sheets newspaper down in one area and laid the masonite and lino on top.
From the date on this fragment, they used the Daily Mirror from Monday, March 9.
According to Google, The Daily Mirror isn't (or wasn't) a Sydney newspaper. The most likely Daily Mirror is a UK newspaper and not one known for exceedingly high levels of journalistic excellence. I looked up Monday, March 9 in a perpetual calendar and found that the 9th of March fell on a Monday in 1924, 1952, 1980, 2008 and will again in 2036. I'm guessing that the paper came from 1980.

For some reason, the alcove where the stove used to go had linoleum tiles on top of concrete. The concrete I understand, but the tiles and the drain were a bit unexpected.
Maybe this was where they put the icebox instead of a stove? But would they have been using iceboxes or refrigerators in Sydney in the 1970s? Unless the building is older than I thought it was. I'll have to check it out.

The floor guys have also ripped up the tacking strips that held the carpet in place in all the rooms of the unit. In the lounge room they used a sander, giving me a better idea of what the floor boards will look like when polished.
Rather promising, don't you think?

Correction on 13 June: Thanks to Erica, I stand corrected. The Daily Mirror was printed in Sydney from 1941 to 1990 and was also known as The Daily Telegraph Mirror and The Daily Telegraph.

Study Update #2: Skirting Boards

Another 'feature' of the original work to enclose the porch was that they didn't put in any skirting boards ... I can't think of the American word for them. Skirting boards are the boards that go around the edge of a room at the bottom of the wall where it meets the floor. Here's the 'before' picture.
On Tuesday, Richard the Carpenter put skirting boards in the study.
You can also see that Carl the Electrician has worked his magic. Originally, there was a single power point in each room, with two in my bedroom and the lounge room (living room). As a Gadget Girl in the 21st century, how can I be expected to live like that? A Geneva Convention violation, surely.

Carl the Electrician has now installed a double power point (2-plug electrical socket) on each wall of each room in the unit (except for the bathroom), with a total of 4 double power points in the office. I only hope that is enough ...

Study Update #1: Those Shelves

The original study had some rather unattractive shelves that were put in when they enclosed the open windows of the original porch to make a third bedroom.

The shelves, aside from being unattractive and warped in the middle, stuck out past the edge of the inset and would keep the new built-in cupboard I ordered from fitting flush against the wall. So, the shelves had to go! Handy Andy was just the guy for the job.

Once the shelves were removed, we found that there was a rather sloppy join in the boards that was covered by the middle shelf. Couldn't leave it like that.


So, Handy Andy removed the board, added some insulation (as there wasn't any there to begin with) and tidied it all up, ready for painting.

The only question now: what colour to paint the study?

Note: Updated on Thursday, 10 June with more photos

Bathroom Update #1: Vanity and Shower Taps

Yes, the last batch of bathroom pics were pretty disappointing. But, thanks to some shopping with HRH and the efforts of Mark The Plumber, it's starting to look more promising, our bathroom.

First, the new sink and vanity. Mark did an excellent job of installing the new sink under the window and replacing the rather unattractive plumbing with something much easier on the eye.

Cool new shower head and taps took Mark some time to install. Seems that previous work was not done very well and he had to repair that first.
Yes, some of you would notice that the tiles are not in very good shape. But don't get your hopes up. They are staying. Yes, I know ... HRH was disappointed too.

We are now on the lookout for an external mixer to replace the two separate taps for the bathtub and I've organised for someone to come out and resurface the bathtub. It is most likely original to the unit and won't be ripped out and replaced with new either. Yes, I know ... HRH was disappointed too.

The bathroom floor is probably the only part of the bathroom that most of you liked. I loath it and as soon as I can find some old/funky/interesting floor tiles, out they go! Yes, I know ... HRH was disappointed too.

And Then We Ripped Up the Carpet ...

A quick tour of the floor after HRH and I tore up the perfectly adequate carpet and underpads. A dirty and nasty job, but we had heaps of fun ripping it all up and putting it out on the curb for the council collection. The 3 Stooges would have been so proud.

I have it on very good advice that we have unfinished kauri pine floorboards. And, yes, that is a good thing. Just looks like crap now.

First, HRH's room ...

... my bedroom ...

... along with the only floorboard that needs to be repaired that was in my bedroom and the only squeaky floorboard along side it, ...

... the study, which was the old porch and has hardwood floors because it used to be outside ...

... the lounge room ...

... and, finally, the hallway, looking from the kitchen towards the bathroom.

We've also peeled back the lino (linoleum) in the kitchen and there are kauri pine floorboards underneath. I've found someone who is going to strip off the lino and sand, polish and oil all the floorboards, including the study. So, the floors should end up looking something like this.

I think that will do quite nicely.

The 'Before' Bathroom

This is what the bathroom looked like when we bought the unit.
And, finally, the most interesting part of the bathroom. The small cupboard is between what used to be the windows out onto the porch. They would now be looking out into what is now the study if they hadn't been closed off. What used to be the exteriors to the windows are still visible in the study but will be enclosed by the built-in cupboard that has been ordered for the study.

OK, I confess that the bathroom isn't the most attractive feature of the unit. But it gets better ...